Necturus pictures

[peter]

I was looking through some pictures I took when I moved back to college, and thought people might want to see these pictures. Seeing as how my pictures never turn out (no zoom/macro feature), these turned out pretty good for a change.

I really wish I could get better pictures, but anyhow, that's my female when I was getting her used to the water. The white dots under the plastic are just water bubbles from the filter.

 

[dot]

Yay for Walkies! She looks gorgeous, Pete.

 

[jennifer]

Great! This is N. maculosus, right?

 

[peter]

Yep, she's a maculosus. There's tons of them in the river, but we only really find them in the spring, when fishermen have poles out by the dozen for the walleye run. Luckily, though, she was caught in a minnow trap and didn't have to be hooked. She's definately my favorite animal, aside from my dog.

 

[mark]

Great pictures Pete, she's a beautiful animal! I look forward to seeing any more pictures that you take of her.

 

[dot]

Pete -
It's the cows.

 

[jesse]

nice N. Maculosus pete. she must be eating like a pig. what food does she seem dto prefer? mine doesnt really like earthworms, but loves small crayfish.

 

[peter]

Jesse- She's not too big, about a foot long; I haven't observed any growth since I got her in March, though it's hard to tell on that scale. Her favorite food is minnows; I buy them from the bait shop and then handfeed to ensure they're eaten to minimize the risk of disease transmission. She'll eat nightcrawlers, but only if she's really hungry. I've tried crayfish, and can assume she's eaten some of the really small ones, but she doesn't really care for them. I feed her about 3 times a week, as many minnows as she'll eat. It's usually around 3-5. Other than that, I try to diversify her food when possible, and there's always something in there to eat; right now there are two crayfish and a few small bluegills that I'd kept for some time before placing into the tank. Even if she won't eat the crayfish, they do help keep the tank clean.

 

[joseph]

Peter: Are the claws on the crayfish removed? Even if not, she will probably eat them when they molt.

Also, I think it would be less risky to simply raise your own feeders as opposed to buying from a baitstore. That would require a bit of space though.

 

[peter]

It's a bit impractical to raise 15+ fish over an inch long every week. The cost and space concerns further makes this impossible, given that I already barely have enough room to walk through my apartment. In any event, it's likely that she's scavenged far worse in the wild. Given that she's hand-fed and the food items are quickly digested, rather than allowing the minnow to freely swim the tank, the likelihood of contracting a disease is very unlikely, especially since she's had to have eaten diseased fish in the wild.

Hamilton (1932) reports that crustaceans make up ~33% of their diet, and that crayfish are an important source of food. Most populations use crayfish as a primary food source, so it's safe to assume that she's spent years eating them.

It's all a matter of preference. She might be equip to deal with them, but in captivity, it's her choice. She shares a 75 gallon tank with two small crayfish and can avoid or eat them at will. I have de-clawed some crayfish in the past, but even these she's rejected, and I had to give them to my piranhas. Regardless, wild crayfish are not de-clawed, so unless there's some indication that they're causing a problem, there's no need to do it.

 

[jennifer]

It has been observed with hellbenders in captivity that they ignore crayfish most of the time, but vigorously go after one when it is molting. I bet she'll get them sooner or later.

 

[jesse]

i have one question, do you stun the fish when you hand feed her, or do you simply hold it by the tail and let her come after it? with mine i try to stun the fish so that it doesnt move as much then i just let it fall in front of her. she usually goes for it. she also likes beef heart pieces. i dont hold food up to her mouth since ive already been bitten, once bitten twice shy! so you never allow minnows to swin freely in her tank? im jsut curious b/c i usually let one or two goldfish swim around my N. maculosus' tank, incase she feels a bit peckish and decides to have a little snack

 

[peter]

I let the bluegills go free if she's ever hungry, but never the minnows, unless they've survived for over a month, and even then I'm unlikely to do it. I feed her directly, holding the minnow by the tail. I'm not worried at all about her biting me, mostly I'm worried about scaring her. I go in slow so she can see me, and she ducks under her rock. I then wave the minnow in front of the rock until she moves her head or looks at it, shows some sort of interest. Then, I just need to keep the minnow still, and wait for her to pick it up. If you take your time and hold the minnow carefully, there's no risk of being accidentally bitten, provided that the minnow is long enough. I don't bother feeding her anything less than an inch long. I wouldn't feed mine beef heart, though I imagine she'd probably really enjoy them and they're fine in small quantities. Hope this helps; feeding her by hand is one of the biggest highlights in my caudate-keeping experience.

 

[jesse]

yeah ive fed min in a similar fashion to what you describe before, but she tends to get really feisty and has bitten me a couple of times. i usually jsut stun the fish and let it sink down to were she is that way i dont have to put my hands in her water, since i probably have chemicals on my hands. freshwater isopods though small are also really enjoyed, i remember i ordered some from a biological company and my mudpuppy started hunting them down as soon as she realized they were there, its really fun to watch them hunt, they seem to scent the trail like a dog. tadpoles are also a fav , but i cut those out of her diet a while ago since i didint whant her to get any diseases or parasites from the tadpoles.